Saturday, June 23, 2012

Gays, lesbians face greater inequality here because of criminalising of same sex relations

Gays, lesbians face greater inequality here because of criminalising of same sex relations

Posted By Stabroek staff On June 22, 2012 @ 5:15 am In Local | No Comments

A
human rights expert says that by virtue of Guyana keeping on its books
laws that criminalise homosexual behaviour, persons from the Lesbian,
Gay, Bi-Sexual and Transgendered (LGBT) community face inequality on a
higher scale than other marginalised groups.
Speaking at a public
forum on equality and LGBT rights at Moray House Trust on Wednesday
evening, Dr. Dimitrina Petrova, Executive Director of Equal Rights Trust
says Guyana’s laws criminalising homosexuality
and cross-dressing are not in consonance with Government’s
responsibility of ensuring that there is equality for all.

Dr. Dimitrina Petrova

The
expert, who hails from Bulgaria, said that the mission of her
organisation is equality and it is regarded as a basic principle of
human justice and a fundamental human right.
She said that
equality is one of many human rights and it is the business of Equal
Rights Trust to put serious human rights issues into context so that
they can be seen as being based on equality.
In explaining why it
was that the organisation chose to work in Guyana, Dr. Petrova said that
while there are many problems in Guyana for many groups – indigenous
peoples, women, race – it is the LGBT group that seems to be the most
affected since the discrimination against them is enshrined in law.
“There are gaps in the protection.
The
levels of protection are different for different people [in Guyana].
Looking from outside, the LGBT seems to be the most unequal group,” Dr.
Petrova said. She pointed out too that there can be no equality if one
group is left out.
Dr. Petrova shared SASOD’s view that the
Government should not be taking its cue from the religious community in
order to make decisions regarding the rights of LGBT people. SASOD
reported that representatives of the Government stated they would have
been seeking moral guidance from the three main religious groups in
Guyana without considering any discussions with the groups which are
affected by the discriminatory laws and policies. “The dialogue should
be [among] the faith-based groups, cultural promoters, the Ministry of
Health, the Guyana Police Force and should include citizens and groups
who support the view that LGBT Guyanese are deserving of the same rights
as any other Guyanese citizen,” SASOD said in a statement.
Speaking
at the event, Vidyaratha Kissoon, one of the founding members of SASOD
said that the body believes that a Guyana which offers equality for LGBT
Guyanese will be characterised by the inclusion of LGBT issues in all
human and social development discussions that occur at national and
community levels and will be incorporated as a cross cutting issue in
development plans.
“SASOD has called on the Government and
national decision makers to amend the Constitution to include gender
identity and sexual orientation as grounds (prohibiting) discrimination
so as to protect LGBT citizens and allow for legal recourse,” Kissoon
said.
He said too that SASOD is calling for the repeal of Section
153 (1) (xlvii) of the Summary Jurisdiction (Offences) Act Chapter 8:02,
which sanctions the wearing of clothes considered to be those of the
opposite sex. Kissoon said this law stigmatises transgendered people and
facilitates arbitrary arrest and police abuse.
The group also
wants Section 351 of the Criminal Law (Offences) Act Chapter 8:01 which
reads, “any male person who, in public or private, commits, or is party
to the commission, by any male person, of an act of gross indecency with
any other male person shall be guilty of a misdemeanour and liable to
imprisonment for two years.”
SASOD is also campaigning and making
representation to educate members of the uniformed forces – police,
prison and army – and to evaluate their performance based on their
obligations in terms of non-discriminatory treatment towards sex
workers, LGBT persons and people living with HIV/AIDS. “Discriminatory
and abusive behaviour on the part of police officers should be
investigated and punished where necessary,” Kissoon said.
He said
that SASOD hopes to embark on the critical implementation of actions
which ensure that the needs of LGBT citizens are addressed within the
health care system and social services provision. “The health and well
being of LGBT citizens should not be left to the selective judgements of
the health care workers and social workers,” Kissoon said.
SASOD
wants to also open a broader dialogue on culture and human rights so as
to guarantee that no human rights violations will be perpetrated under
the name of culture, religion or tradition. Further, Kissoon said that
many LGBT persons need low income housing and are not allowed to apply
for a house lot since they are single and often have no children of
their own.
SASOD wants Government to ensure that the Ministry of
Labour is equipped to deal with cases of discrimination against LGBT
persons which prevents access to employment. It wants Government to
ensure that the Ministry of Education implements a policy which ensures
that LGBT youth are not discriminated against in the school system and
that health and family life educators speak to the diversity in sexual
orientation and gender identity.

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About SASOD

The Society Against Sexual Orientation Discrimination (SASOD) is a human rights organisation and movement dedicated to achieving equality and justice for all Guyanese, especially those suffering discrimination based on their sexuality, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity and gender expression. We support similar work in Latin America and the Caribbean, Americas, Commonwealth, Global South and worldwide.